‘Very worried’ – Mikel Arteta gives update on William Saliba injury after Arsenal star missed Aston Villa clash
Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is ‘very worried’ by an injury picked up by William Saliba. The centre-back has been a mainstay in the Gunners’ defence and missed just one of their Premier League matches all season. Saliba was out of action for Arsenal against VillaGetty However, Saliba was not named in the starting XI or on the bench for the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, prompting Arsenal to explain the absence on social media. Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the club wrote: “William Saliba misses out with a minor issue.” When asked if there was a timescale for Saliba’s return, Arteta elaborated post-match, saying: “No, not yet. “Tomorrow we will have more information, we will have another test on him and we will be more clear about that. He was then asked if he was concerned about the injury to Saliba. Arteta said: “Yeah, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench – very worried.” Jurrien Timber replaced Saliba in the Arsenal defence and played alongside Gabriel. Myles Lewis-Skelly was rewarded for his fine form with another start whilst Kai Havertz led the attack. Saliba is one of a number of injury issues that have affected Arsenal in recent weeks. Gabriel Jesus was revealed to have to sustained a blow to his anterior cruciate ligament during the week, ruling him out for the rest of the season. That injury is likely to make selling the Brazilian impossible this summer as well. With the Gunners’ financial situation unclear, players are likely going to need to be sold to raise funds for incomings. Jesus would have been an obvious choice for that, but this injury would make it very had for the Gunner to sell the forward. Bukayo Saka is still out of action with a hamstring issue alongside knee injuries to Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Another absentee is Riccardo Calafiori with a muscle problem. Arteta was without one of his key players this weekendGetty Arsenal hoped to capitalise on their north London derby win over Tottenham during the week with a win this weekend. However, they dropped more points in the Premier League title race by squandering a 2-0 lead at home. Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring with a volley that Emiliano Martinez couldn’t quite keep out before Havertz doubled their lead early in the second half to put them in control. However, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins ensured Villa clawed their way back into the match. Tielemans headed home from an excellent Lucas Digne cross before Watkins finished Matty Cash’s ball with a clever volley off the inside of the crossbar. Arsenal thought they had won it through a Mikel Merino strike but it was disallowed for handball by Havertz. The Gunners are now six points behind leaders Liverpool, who won 2-0 against Brentford earlier in the day and have a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is ‘very worried’ by an injury picked up by William Saliba.
The centre-back has been a mainstay in the Gunners’ defence and missed just one of their Premier League matches all season.
However, Saliba was not named in the starting XI or on the bench for the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, prompting Arsenal to explain the absence on social media.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the club wrote: “William Saliba misses out with a minor issue.”
When asked if there was a timescale for Saliba’s return, Arteta elaborated post-match, saying: “No, not yet.
“Tomorrow we will have more information, we will have another test on him and we will be more clear about that.
He was then asked if he was concerned about the injury to Saliba.
Arteta said: “Yeah, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench – very worried.”
Jurrien Timber replaced Saliba in the Arsenal defence and played alongside Gabriel.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was rewarded for his fine form with another start whilst Kai Havertz led the attack.
Saliba is one of a number of injury issues that have affected Arsenal in recent weeks.
Gabriel Jesus was revealed to have to sustained a blow to his anterior cruciate ligament during the week, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
That injury is likely to make selling the Brazilian impossible this summer as well.
With the Gunners’ financial situation unclear, players are likely going to need to be sold to raise funds for incomings.
Jesus would have been an obvious choice for that, but this injury would make it very had for the Gunner to sell the forward.
Bukayo Saka is still out of action with a hamstring issue alongside knee injuries to Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Another absentee is Riccardo Calafiori with a muscle problem.
Arsenal hoped to capitalise on their north London derby win over Tottenham during the week with a win this weekend.
However, they dropped more points in the Premier League title race by squandering a 2-0 lead at home.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring with a volley that Emiliano Martinez couldn’t quite keep out before Havertz doubled their lead early in the second half to put them in control.
However, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins ensured Villa clawed their way back into the match.
Tielemans headed home from an excellent Lucas Digne cross before Watkins finished Matty Cash’s ball with a clever volley off the inside of the crossbar.
Arsenal thought they had won it through a Mikel Merino strike but it was disallowed for handball by Havertz.
The Gunners are now six points behind leaders Liverpool, who won 2-0 against Brentford earlier in the day and have a game in hand.
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